POKER DOGS Prints Coolidge set of 4 GC c.1910

You are viewing a beautiful vintage set of 4 prints by the famous artist C.M. Coolidge. Coolidge is of course most know for his humorous series of prints depicting dogs playing poker. These images are world famous and were found on the walls of taverns, dens, garages, pool rooms, barbershops and homes across America. The prints are plate signed by the artist and are published by Arthur A. Kaplan CO., Inc. NYC. who published this series of prints in the 1910 and were printed by Brown & Bigelow Div of Standard Packaging Corpl, USA.

Dogs Playing Poker refers collectively to a series of sixteen oil paintings by C. M. Coolidge , commissioned in 1903 by Brown & Bigelow to advertise cigars. [1 ] All the paintings in the series feature anthropomorphized dogs, but the nine in which dogs are seated around a card table have become derisively well-known in the United States as examples of mainly working-class taste in home decoration. Critic Annette Ferrara describes Dogs Playing Poker as "indelibly burned into ... the American collective- schlock subconscious ... through incessant reproduction on all manner of pop ephemera ."

The titles in the "Dogs Playing Poker" series proper are:

A Bold Bluff (originally titled Judge St. Bernard Stands Pat on Nothing )[ 3] A Friend in Need His Station and Four Aces Pinched with Four Aces Poker Sympathy Post Mortem Sitting up with a Sick Friend Stranger in Camp Waterloo (originally titled Judge St. Bernard Wins on a Bluff )[ 3]

These were followed in 1910 by a similar painting, Looks Like Four of a Kind . Some of the compositions in the series are modeled on paintings of human card-players by such artists as Caravaggio , Georges de La Tour , and Paul Cézanne .[ 3]

The St. Bernard in the paintings Waterloo and A Bold Bluff was owned by the Fifth Avenue florist Theodore Lang, who counted Coolidge among his friends. The dog's name was Captain. [4 ]

On February 15, 2005, the originals of A Bold Bluff and Waterloo were auctioned as a pair to an undisclosed buyer for US $ 590,400. [5 ] The previous top price for a Coolidge was $74,000

The four prints in this lot consist of:

"A Friend in Need"

Depicting a group of poker playing dogs with a bulldog cheating by passing an ace to his buddy in his paw.

"Poker Sympathy"

Depicting a group of dogs playing poker and a dog with 4 aces, all in and being trumped by a straight flush.

"His Station and Four Aces"

Depicting a group of dogs in business suits, playing poker on a train. One dog is extremely upset as his station is being called by the conductor and he is holding four aces in his hand (paw).

"A Waterloo"

Depicting a group of dogs smoking cigars and pipes, drinking and playing poker. The winner has just waterloo'd the other players and they are all showing their dismay.

The prints measure 12 X 16 inches and are printed horizontally. These are original prints and have some edge damage and discoloration on the border. The prints have been stored flat but are a bit yellowed from age. The colors are still vibrant and are well depicted in the imbeded slide show. You can These prints have never been matted or framed and have been stored flat for many years.

Shipping insurance is not required on this item but may be added to your shipping costs at checkout if desired .

I found these prints in my Grandfather's things in a large manila envelope that was falling apart. I have no idea how long he had them and had never seen them before.

Thank you for looking and !

OUR STORY:

I promise to tell the story behind each item. Those that I know a story about.

Amazingly enough, some items, Mom nor I can identify…. I guess they just slipped in among the memories because they were “cute” because….